Yacimovich: Abbas agreed to Jewish settlers in a future Palestinian state
Former Labor leader claims PA president discussed possibility of Jewish settlers remaining in Palestinian state in May, 2013.
By JPOST.COM STAFFAbbas and Yacimovich 370(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Former Labor leader Shelly Yacimovich claimed on Tuesday morning that she had discussed the possibility of Jewish settlers who did not wish to leave their West Bank communities, staying in a Palestinian state as citizens. Yacimovich stated on Israel Radio that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had accepted the proposal in a meeting between herself and Abbas in May, 2013.Yacimovich was responding to strong opposition from right-wing parties in the government as well as certain elements on the Left to comments made by an official in Netanyahu’s office that the prime minister believes the residents of Judea and Samaria should be allowed to remain in a Palestinian state.On Sunday Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett slammed Netanyahu saying, “The idea of Jewish settlements under Palestinian sovereignty, as was suggested by someone in the Prime Minister’s Office, is very dangerous and reflects a loss of values."Yacimovich however, argued that in negotiations with the Palestinians, "no options should be kept off the table" and that the possibility of Jewish settlers staying in a Palestinian state as citizens should be seriously discussed. Yet the Labor MK also commented that Netanyahu was not serious about his proposal regarding the settlers or, for that matter, the peace process.
